How to Price your home correctly

How to price your home correctly

When you decide to sell your home, you of course want the highest return from its sale. Determining your "asking price" is the most important step in preparing your house for sale.

It's pretty clear that pricing your property too low won't provide you the best return. You will probably be overwhelmed with lookers and may get many offers, but you could lose thousands of dollars on your family's largest investment.

On the other hand, pricing a property too high holds its own risks. Homes that are priced too high miss their target market. Qualified buyers who might find the home just right for their needs won't see your home, or make an offer on it, because it is out of their price range. If they are shown a home that is overpriced when it first comes on the market and do not buy because they feel it's not a good value, they're not likely to revisit the home once the price is lowered (they've already eliminated your home as a possibility). Real estate agents are unlikely to show a house that is overpriced unless, unfortunately, it will make a competing property look like a better value. This is not the type of exposure you want your home to receive.

Some home sellers will take the "let's try it and see what happens" approach. They may feel that they can always decrease the asking price if they are not receiving offers. But testing the market in this manner can be dangerous. A property receives its best exposure during the first three to five weeks after it is listed. After this point, many agents lose their enthusiasm as other new (and possibly better valued) listings come onto the market. Some home sellers forget that they have quite a bit of competition and that buyers are generally very well informed consumers.

If your home is priced right from the beginning, you have the best opportunity of reaching the most qualified buyers. Buyers who have seen most available homes in their price range are just waiting for the right house to come on the market. That's why a well-priced home often sells quickly once it is actually put on the market and many times receives multiple offers which create bid situations that benefit the seller. You want your home to be viewed in this manner for the highest return on your investment.

Throughout the country, Multiple Listing Association statistics show that the longer a property is on the market, the lower the selling price. The home becomes "stale" and a price reduction results.

Pricing a home is partially an "art" combined with the finely tuned "science" a real estate professional acquires with experience and knowledge. Tim Sojka assesses the hard evidence of current sales and similar listed homes. But no two houses are exactly the same. That means that the hard evidence needs to be evaluated along with the current supply and demand for homes in your neighborhood. Your Agent will make a presentation based on all of this criteria.

In the final analysis, the right price can be translated into the right price range which attracts the maximum number of qualified buyers within a time frame that suits the sellers' needs. The strategy that is required depends on the market conditions at the time your home is put up for sale. It can best be determined by Tim Sojka who is active in the market, who constantly views homes and is monitoring the ever changing market conditions.

If you are considering selling your home and need help to determine your best market range in order to sell for the highest price in the least amount of time please contact us for a Comparative Market Analysis and consultation.